Sunday night’s episode of The Walking Dead has certainly stirred up plenty of conversation as well as the development of some new theories regarding the latest antagonistic group called the Reapers. The latest theory in question actually ties the Reapers to the Saviors.
The Reapers — or a single member of their group — made quite the appearance in Episode 17 of The Walking Dead Season 10C. Having followed Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) from her previous location and back to the communities of which she was once a member, the Reaper managed to cause some major destruction.
Maggie revealed to Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) that the most recent community she had been staying with was attacked by the Reapers. Many members were killed and she was bringing the remainder to Hilltop.
Who are the Reapers?
As of yet, not a lot of information has been shared regarding the Reapers. Mostly, all that is known is that they are military-based.
A line uttered by the Reaper tracking Maggie’s group also suggests that a vendetta is held by at least one member of the group against Maggie.
“Pope marked you,” the man said before blowing himself up.
However, some detective work done by Decider has found an interesting link between this Reaper and Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) old group called the Saviors.
The Saviors were a previous antagonistic group that first featured in Season 6 of The Walking Dead. Negan, as their leader, controlled people by fear and often killed people with his barbed wire-coated baseball bat in order to set the example.
According to Decider, the actor who played the Reaper in Episode 17 of The Walking Dead’s Season 10C also played a Savior.
The Saviors/Reaper crossover
Mike S. Whinnet is credited by AMC as the actor who played the Reaper that appeared in Sunday night’s episode of The Walking Dead. He also appears to be known by the names Michael Whinnett and Mike Whinnet.
According to Decider, this actor also played an unnamed Savior, although, this is not listed on Whinnet’s IMDb page. However, some images of the actor do appear on The Walking Dead Fandom page indicating that he did appear at some point in the TV series and is, for whatever reason, not listed on his IMDb page.
However, if it is true, it adds a fascinating layer to the complicated relationship between Maggie and Negan, who was responsible for the death of her husband while the leader of the Saviors.
The theory further suggests that the Reaper that appeared in Episode 17 was never shown dying as his Savior character, it is possible that he– along with other surviving Saviors– still held a grudge against the communities that destroyed the Saviors and took Negan prisoner.
Or, the actor could have been simply recast as another completely unrelated character, making this theory null and void.
This theory cannot be verified yet and already appears to be on somewhat shaky grounds. This means that viewers will just have to tune into further episodes of The Walking Dead in order to find out more.
Episode 18 of The Walking Dead Season 10C will air at 9/8c on Sunday March 7.